Culture at the i Newspaper: Jane Austen Adaptations
Don’t tell them, but I’d have done this one for free.
The i newspaper Culture section asked me if I would
like to watch all the available Jane Austen adaptations, and choose my
favourites and write about them. In the words of Anne Elliot, ‘Would I?’
I watched 24 different versions, and read all the books for
good measure. And this counted as work! My partner, not an enormous JA expert,
would come in, look at the screen, and say ‘silly girl is going to jump off the
Cob again isn’t she?’ or I would say ‘you have 30 seconds to say which book
this is’.
I didn’t get bored, or blasé, or wish it was over – I had
worried that I would be unfair to those I watched later, but that was not the case.
They are timeless stories, and they were entertaining right through to the end.
We kept it focused: no modern versions (I regret only
Clueless), no sequels, no updating, no Jane Austen with zombies, no films based
on her life.
I thought I might discover some lost gems from the 60s to the 80s, but no – the only early item in my list (the
1940 film) is there only as a curiosity, and is NOT recommended. You’d have to
be my age to appreciate (or even understand) my description of ‘the 1970s Persuasion
that looks like the cast of Howard’s Way in Regency clothes, shot in a Berni
Inn.’
Modern Jane starts exactly where you would expect – the 1995
gold standard BBC adaptation.
I could have written twice as much about most of these, and
about the books, so there’s a good chance there’ll be more Jane Austen posts coming
on the blog soon.
In the meantime, you can find my piece here:
I've
seen every Jane Austen adaptation - these are the nine worth watching
There is a limit to how many articles you can access on the
newspaper's website each month, but you may be able to get an idea from this photo:
What a great writeup, Moira! I agree with you that *the* one to watch/start with/etc. is the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. And there are some others (like the 1940 version) that I haven't seen. Lots to check out, and I appreciate your thoughts on them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margot - it's always going to be a subjective list, but I hope people find it helpful when choosing their next watch.
DeleteThank you, Moira, for watching them all so we don't have to. Except of course, we WANT to.
ReplyDeleteMy only quibble is the omission of the excellent 1995 Persuasion with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds. All those wonderfully portrayed characters. The Crofts, the Musgroves, the Elliots.
I think everyone has their own favourites, and that's fine! That version is one that a number of people have mentioned to me. Luckily, Austen fans are polite when they disagree, and simply say what they like about a different one...
DeleteAnd - I did watch that one, and enjoyed it very much.
Really enjoyed this, Moira - though also in agreement with Susan about the 1995 Persuasion which I feel is up there with the best. Chrissie
ReplyDeleteI watched four Persuasions, and it came second!
DeleteI haven't watched many of the newer adaptations but the '95 versions of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Persuasion" are favorites (in spite of Davies' made-up scenes for Darcy --I suspect him of having Rickman-esque ideas about Men's Journeys in Austen). Rozema's "Mansfield Park" gave Fanny a personality transplant which made her more fun but didn't make any sense to me. If Austen had wanted Fanny to be fun, she would have written Fanny that way! I realize that no adaptation will ever match the way I "see" a novel in my head, but some of them just jar me, and the Knightley P& P is one of them. Beautifully made film, just not "my" Austen
ReplyDeleteWe all have our own Austen: I knew when I wrote it that people would be arguing and disagreeing - but as I say, politely! I also think that we want different things from Austen (print and screen) at different times of our lives. I'm sure I was more interested in the romance when I was a young thing, whereas now the family dynamics fascinate me.
DeleteI remember a strange Mansfield Park with Fanny dashing around on a horse (that must be the one that Marty refers to), and have a vague memory of the 1970s Persuasion, which I have in a set of Austen DVDs from a charity shop.
ReplyDeleteI could not get on board with a blond Mr Knightley (Johnny Flynn). It's strange how entrenched some ideas about characters are.